Dr. Suzanne Huot is the Principal Investigator for a 2-year, $73,000 SSHRC Insight Development Grant, entitled ‘Exploring 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples’ experiences of knowing, being and doing through occupation’.
This project, a collaboration with UBC’s Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies and School of Social Work, will fund a study led by Rehabilitation Sciences PhD student Holly Reid, who will adopt a community-based participatory approach in partnership with two Indigenous organizations, applying theoretically-informed methods drawing on Indigenous Métissage, queer theory and intersectionality.
Why is this project important?
The project will investigate the complex ways in which policies and social institutions affect 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples’ experiences of knowing, being and doing, and will investigate the impact of these policies and institutions on what 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous individuals perceive as possible for their future. This is an area that remains inadequately understood and addressed.
The timing of this research is critical. The current climate in Canada is shaping discourses that have real-life consequences for equity-deserving populations.
As anti-Indigenous racism and anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric and policy developments continue, there is an urgent need to better understand the experiences of those at the intersections of these forms of oppression.
Community-based participatory research exploring influences upon 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples’ daily lives is essential for identifying and amplifying counter-discourses of resistance and resilience.
By better understanding 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples’ experiences in the context of this work, the project aims to identify and address the systemic barriers that impede or otherwise influence 2SLGBTQ+ Indigenous peoples’ participation in meaningful and valued roles and in daily occupations.